Dave Guettler (L) and Chris DiStefano outside River City’s central eastside location.
(Photo: River City Bicycles)

Bicycle industry veteran Chris DiStefano has accepted a position as marketing and public affairs director for River City Bicycles.

DiStefano’s career in the bike world spans over two decades and he has held high profile roles with Shimano, Chris King Precision Components, and most recently Rapha, where he was communications director for North America. River City Bicycles was founded by Dave Guettler in 1995 and is one of the most successful independently-owned bike shops in America. Put together, these two powerhouses of business and advocacy are very likely to make huge waves in Portland and beyond.

In past positions DiStefano has embraced his role as a lobbyist for bike product makers and has proven to be an effective advocate. He’s been a loud voice pushing for mountain bike trails, he helped ferry the data-sharing relationship, between Strava and the Oregon Department of Transportation, and was picked by ODOT to serve on their Bike and Pedestrian Plan update committee. While at Chris King he made several trips to the National Bike Summit and even accepted invitations to the White House where he forged a working relationship with Secretary of Commercie Penny Pritzker.

Check out the official press release below:
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Commuter-related sales are generally up across the city.
(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland)

After a few uneasy years for many local bike shops, the people whose businesses are built around Portland’s core of daily bike commuters say they’re feeling the boom.

One week after a new Census estimate that Portland added 5,000 net new bike commuters in 2014 to reach a total of 23,000 citywide, we called a few of the city’s biggest bike sellers to see if that seemed right.

Yep. And what’s more, they said the boom got bigger in 2015.

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What makes a great bike shop? (more…)

The lean and mean S-Works McLaren in southeast Portland last week.
(Photo: River City Bicycles)

It’s not every day that a local shop builds up a $20,000 bike that was made in collaboration with a legendary auto racing company. (more…)

River City Bicycles ad creator Andrew Reed in a cyclocross race.
(Photo courtesy Reed.)

He’s co-created major TV ads, like this one launching Apple’s iPad Air. He led the team that came up with Oregon Humane Society’s “End Petlessness” campaign and the concept for Oregon Public Broadcasting’s signature news show, Think Out Loud.

One year, in a gig he’s still sheepish about, he commuted weekly from California to Detroit to do ad work for Chevrolet.

But about 20 times each year for the last decade, Andrew Reed has sat down with Adobe Illustrator to put together River City Bicycles‘ quarter-page black and white ad for page 3 of Willamette Week.

“I can’t think of another bike shop in the country that does this,” said Reed, a freelance creative director who moved from Portland to Los Angeles in 2012, in a phone interview Thursday. “It’s kind of a life’s work kind of thing.”

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Ramp outside River City Bicycles.
(Photo: Dave Guettler)

About a week ago, River City Bicycles built a concrete quarter-pipe in their parking lot outside their store on SE Martin Luther King Blvd just north of the Morrison Bridge. Shop owner Dave Guettler installed the ramp so employees and customers could practice tricks and have a bit of fun.

Guettler had no idea that it might help save a woman’s life.

According to Guettler, the ramp has become an instant hit with local skateboarders. “They were out there last night for several hours trying to nail a trick.” Then, around 6:00 pm (during shop hours), the skateboarders heard a woman screaming inside a car that was parked in the shop’s parking lot.
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This corner building at SE 6th and Belmont
will soon be the River City Bicycles Outlet store.

River City Bicycles has purchased a new, 5,000 square foot building that will soon become a new outlet store selling discounted bikes and clothing just a few blocks from their existing location. The River City Bicycles Outlet is set to open for business in the next few weeks at 534 SE Belmont (the southwest corner of 6th and Belmont).
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David Guettler showing off his
BRAINy Award at Cross Vegas
last night.
(Photo © J. Maus)

David Guettler, owner of River City Bicycles in Portland’s central eastside, was named Retailer of the Year by Bicycle Retailer and Industry News at an award ceremony last night following the first day of the Interbike trade show.

I bumped into an ecstatic Guettler at the Cross Vegas race shortly after the awards ceremony. Guettler has been in the bike industry for 31 years and says this is by far the biggest honor of his career. “I’m still floating from the awards ceremony… this is a big deal!” Guettler said being a part of the bike industry is such an honor because the bicycle is such a powerful force for good that can help solve so many of our world’s problems. “I think this is the most important industry in the world. To be selected by my peers… it’s just staggering.” (more…)

[Publisher’s note: This story was published yesterday on Page Two, but since it’s so darn beautiful outside right now, and because this is such a great resource, I thought it needed a bit more attention.]

Screenshot of RubbertotheRoad.com

River City Bicycles’ Rubber to the Road guidebooks have long been a popular way to learn about great rides in our region. Now the books have a useful, web-based complement at RubbertotheRoad.com.

The website has a ton of great rides listed, complete with turn-by-turn directions and an interactive GPS-powered map. Here’s more about it from the latest River City Bicycles newsletter: (more…)

If you watch local network television, you might be surprised to see a commercial for River City Bicycles. It’s not typical for a local bike shop to produce a TV ad, but River City’s Dave Guettler, is not a typical bike shop owner.

Guettler is known for his creative ad campaigns. Back in March, BikePortland contributor Carl Larson wrote that his ads go “beyond the ordinary”. (more…)